Wichita State transfer pitcher Jace Miner commits to Oklahoma

By Tuesday morning, just eight teams will remain alive for a national championship in college baseball. Everyone else will begin setting their rosters for the 2024 season. As usual, the NCAA transfer portal is going to be active and a quality pitcher found a landing spot on Monday.

Wichita State left-handed pitcher Jace Miner has committed to play for the Oklahoma Sooners, he announced via Twitter. He is one of the nearly 30 players who have left the Shockers this season. Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson smartly decided to take advantage.

“Thank you to all the coaches and the staff that reached out to me during this process,” Miner said. “Blessed and excited to announce that after a long talk with my family I will be transferring to the University of Oklahoma!”

Miner pitched in 44 innings this season for Wichita State, finishing the season with a 2.05 ERA. His longest outing of the season came against Kansas State, throwing 4.1 no-hit innings and allowing just one base runner via a walk.

Striking out 38 batters compared to 19 walks bodes well for Miner too.

Oklahoma did get to see Miner in person this season. On two different occasions, the Sooners went up against their latest transfer commitment. Miner was able to throw a combined 4.1 innings, allowing no runs, walking two, and striking out five.

Oklahoma looking to continue success under Skip Johnson

For the second consecutive season, Oklahoma made an NCAA Tournament appearance. This go-round, they were considered more of a bubble team. Johnson was happy to hear his team’s name called on Selection Monday, sending the Sooners to the Charlottesville Regional.

They wound up dropping two games to East Carolina, ending the 2023 season. However, the 2022 season is where most of the success came for the Sooners, making it all the way to the championship series at the College World Series.

Now that there has been the taste of that kind of success, it’s continually wanted in Norman. Especially with the softball program doing so well, Oklahoma fans would love to see Johnson and baseball be national contenders on an annual basis.

Adding somebody such as Miner can only help, no matter the kind of role he plays next season. There can never be too much quality pitching on the roster, especially from the left side. A big pickup for Oklahoma early in the portal cycle.